The Man Behind The Mask
by aresrat
Summary: This is my conclusion to the General Hospital storyline involving Fake Luke/Julian's Boss. First in trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**It was about a half hour to midnight at the end of November as blood easily, but slowly, dripped from a cut near EJ DiMera's left eye as he stared down Julian Jerome on the deck of the Haunted Star, pointing a gun at his former employee. Their struggle over the firearm had been brief, but very physical, both getting in punches and leaving marks on the other's face. It'd started after Julian announced that he'd given up his boss to the police, this time the real deal, not a frame job.**

**"****You honestly thought I'd just let you live after you betrayed me to the police?" EJ spat at Julian. "Don't you remember what happened to your son a few months ago?"**

**Tasting blood, Julian retorted, "You mean when you tried to have him killed, right in front of me? Of course I remember! And that was where you messed up. If you'd just let me walk away you could've avoided a lot of stress."**

**"****Let you walk away?" DiMera laughed, "Of course not! I told you that we had a mission. Sonny Corinthos had to be destroyed. There was no way I was going to let you just walk away without that job completed."**

**Now it was Julian's turn to laugh. "Why are you so obsessed with Sonny? When did you two even cross paths? You grew up in English boarding schools and he's almost ten years older than you."**

**"****Corinthos and I have actually crossed paths, but you wouldn't know. And it's none of your business anyhow." EJ wiped blood off the side of his cheek. "Back to your family, you do realize that you just signed all of their death certificates don't you?"**

**Julian smirked, "Oh, I wouldn't be too worried about that."**

**"****What a fool," EJ said, cocking back the gun. "Goodbye, Jule-"**

**"****POLICE!" Commissioner Anna Devane yelled as she stood on the marina, flanked on either side by Detectives Nathan West and Dante Falconeri, a small army of uniformed officers behind them. "Elvis DiMera, drop the weapon!"**

**"****HAHAHA!" EJ boomed. "Really, Jules? Here?"**

**"****Well, EJ, you became a problem. And I don't like to have problems." Julian turned to leave before stopping and facing his former boss. "Oh, I almost forgot. Goodbye."**

**"****Yes," EJ smirked.**

**And that's when the shots started.**


	2. Chapter 2

**News of the shooting on the Haunted Star involving the PCPD entered airwaves around midnight. Julian's picture was plastered on every screen where an adult was still awake. "Notorious mob boss Julian Jerome has been shot and is missing, sources inside the PCPD are saying." Every reporter on every channel said the same thing. "There is no word yet on what events led to Mr. Jerome's shooting or the PCPD's involvement in it.**

**However, the name Elvis Aaron DiMera crossed no televised lips. In all the chaos, no one had mentioned to the press who exactly had been shot by the police three times in the arm and once in the leg, who had been treated in an ambulance on site as cops stood guard, and who'd been rushed to the station after being stitched up.**

**"****Elvis Aaron DiMera. Born Elvis Aaron Banks. Son of Stefano DiMera and Susan Banks. Father of two. Engaged to Samantha Brady." Commissioner Devane slapped a file on the interrogation room table right under EJ's nose.**

**He snickered. "Now that we've established that you know who I am, give me one reason why I shouldn't sue this department for police brutality."**

**"****Ha! Are you serious?" Anna inclined. "We only shot you after you put two bullets in Julian Jerome."**

**"****Well, you only had to shoot me once."**

**The Commissioner sighed deeply. "Oh, will you give it up? You do realize that you're going to prison for the rest of your life, don't you?"**

**"****That's what you think." EJ said, his face hardening.**

**"****We've got you dead to rights on the attempted murder of Lucas Jones, the murder of your own assassin, and drug trafficking. And depending on if Julian survives that's another attempted murder or murder charge right there."**

**The kingpin smirked. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, Commissioner."**

**"****Okay, Mr. DiMera. Entertain me; how will you avoid this definite life sentence?"**

**"****I do believe that I am owed one phone call." he said. "Wouldn't want me to get off because you denied me my rights, now would you?**

**Anna knew he had a point. "Come on."**

**Sonny Corinthos entered the station with one thing on his mind: helping Morgan. The twenty-one year old had been slowly dissolving into alcoholism ever since Ava had escaped and left, pregnant and all. The Don was hoping that he could get his oldest son to help with an intervention. He was just about to ask a desk Sergeant where he could find Dante when the two locked eyes for the first time in twenty years.**

**A rage flared up in Sonny as he yelled across the station, "DIMERA, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"**


	3. Chapter 3

Sonny, his chest heaving, slowly began to walk toward EJ, who had his right arm handcuffed to his chair.

Anna acted quickly, stepping in front of Corinthos. "Sonny, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm about to kill one of your detainees." he replied before shoving her out of the way to get to EJ. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU BASTARD?" Sonny yelled, gripping EJ by his shirt, before three uniformed officers grabbed him and took him to the ground, slapping on handcuffs.

"You just assaulted a police officer." Anna said, getting up and straightening her hair. "That'll earn you a night in lock-up."

EJ chose this moment to speak up. "Wow! You sure have aged in the last twenty years, Sonny." he said with a smirk.

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

"Alright, book him then take him to a cell." The commissioner commanded her officers. When Sonny was gone, she turned to EJ. "What the hell was that?"

He laughed. "Maybe I'll tell you after my phone call." With a look of annoyment, Anna set up the line. "Um, can I have some privacy?" EJ asked when she sat down next to him.

"Haha! Are you serious?"

"Very well." he said, dialing a number. "Hello, Father. There's been a minor setback. We have to initiate Plan B."


	4. Chapter 4

It was another hour before EJ was brought down to lock-up. Anna Devane had wanted another chance at an interrogation, and to find out what "Plan B" was, but DiMera held solid. Every question she threw at him was met with an annoying response. Eventually, she had no choice but to give up and just let the FBI take their shot at him in the morning.

"Look what the cops dragged in." Sonny laughed as EJ was put into a cell directly opposite his. "I should've known it was you. Julian's boss. You were always so very irrational."

EJ remained silent until the officer who'd escorted him left to go back to his post outside the cells. "Yes, Corinthos. You should've known, but you didn't. I can only assume that's because you're still as big headed as ever."

"Tell me something, EJ," Sonny said, brushing the insult off. "Of all the people, why Julian Jerome?"

DiMera laughed. "That opportunity just fell into my lap, as luck would have it. I mean, when you and my father called that truce in '92 I knew it wasn't over between me and you. I wasn't going to stop until you were dead. So I bided my time, and all I had to do was overhear Derek Wells, a legitimate business partner of father, on the phone. Apparently, when you go into the witness protection program, the agencies check up on you a lot."

"And let me guess; Julian was all too willing to join in on your little plot?"

"Patience, Corinthos." EJ said with a smirk. "But to answer your question, no. At first Julain wanted nothing to do with my plan. He was comfortable with his new life and was done with the business."

"So, what changed his mind?"

"Money." EJ laughed. "The thing that changes everything. Oh, and power. I reminded Julian of all that he could have once he got his old territory back. Eventually, he realized that I was right."

It was silent for a few moments before Sonny spoke up. "Why?"

"Excuse me?" EJ responded, confused.

"Why, after all this time, did you have to dredge up the past? Why, you son of a bitch, couldn't you just let it go?"

EJ's face hardened. "Are you serious? After what you did to me, I wasn't going to stop until you were in a grave."

"We agreed to a truce!" Sonny spat.

"No! We didn't! You and my father did." DiMera retorted. "I didn't agree to anything."

"How many times do I have to explain to you that what happened on that rooftop was an accident? I never meant for-"

"Shut up!" EJ yelled. "That is your excuse for everything, I bet. Everything's always an accident with you. But we both know what happened to Eliza was no accident."

"Of course it was!" Anger and regret mixed in Sonny's eyes.

"The only accident was that Eliza was hit. But your men knowingly ran onto that rooftop to kill the man they were chasing. Probably someone who owed you a debt or something. Anyway, you can't just put innocent lives at risk and think we're just going to get over it."

"DiMera, I'm sorry about your girlfriend, but the aftermath didn't have to go down like this."

"You don't get it, do you? It's not just about Eliza. You killed my child!"

Sonny was silent for a moment. "What are you talking about, DiMera? There were no kids on that roof besides you and your girl."

"Eliza was pregnant! Four weeks along."

"Oh, that's bull!" Sonny exclaimed. "You were like twelve."

"For your information, I was fourteen. Eliza was sixteen. And last time I checked, those two age groups are very capable of reproducing."

Sonny said nothing as he let the news sink in. He was responsible for the death of a baby. "DiMera, I didn't know...I am so sorry-"

"Save it." EJ spat "This is not over. One day, you'll feel my pain."


	5. Chapter 5

With the sun high in the sky and coffee brewing in the PCPD station, Stefano DiMera entered the building the next morning.

The Phoenix had waited a few hours before coming to town so that he could gather his thoughts on the situation. EJ, his baby boy, had been arrested for all types of crimes. While, yes, he was guilty of all of them, that wasn't important. What was important was how he was going to get him out of it. He been on the phone with high priced attorneys ever since he'd gotten off the phone with EJ. They had no idea.

"I'm looking for whoever is in charge." Stefano told the desk Sergeant.

"And who are you?" the man replied.

"Someone more important than you." The officer turned to walk away. "Hey, get back here!"

"Stefano DiMera."

Stefano laughed at the sound of his name, or rather the person who spoke it. "Sonny Corinthos. If I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

Sonny laughed. "I can only assume that you're here about your bastard. Don't worry; I haven't killed him yet."

Stefano returned the laugh. "I'm even more surprised to see you because I saw on the late night news that you'd been arrested. Don't tell me you broke out."

"Nah; that's not my style. I made bail." Sonny smirked. "But it doesn't seem like EJ's gonna be able to make bail anytime soon. So you might want to get comfortable."

"How'd you like spending the night with EJ? I hope he didn't bother you too much."

"Actually, it was quite informative." Sonny replied. "He informed me that your family has went back on our truce."

"No, no, no, Sonny." said Stefano. "EJ acted alone, but now that he has acted, I will stand by him."

Sonny nodded. "Not surprising." He then continued to the door. "Guess I'll see you around." he said as he passed Stefano.

The Phoenix smirked as Sonny left the station. "I don't think so."


	6. Chapter 6

Anna Devane was leaving her office when she saw a familiar face. "Stefano DiMera, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Anna Devane?" Stefano laughed. "It's been too long. But I was just trying to find out who was in charge here."

"Well look no further." Anna said. "I'm the Police Commissioner."

"Really? How nice." he replied. "So, you won't have any problem with me seeing my son?"

Anna laughed. "Oh no, that will definitely be a problem. EJ isn't allowed any visitors."

"Well, surely you can make an exception for an old friend."

"I'm sorry, Stefano, but this is out of my hands. Your son is facing some very serious charges and I am under strict orders from the director of the FBI to not allow him any visitors."

"Anna, come on. Just five-"

"ANNA! ANNA!"

"What the-" Anna began before being interrupted by Alexis Davis, who looked like she'd just gotten out of bed, what with her purple silk pajamas and fuzzy slippers. The only thing that made her look sane was her coat."

"Anna, what the hell happened to Julian?" she asked, frantic. "I heard something on the news about a shooting on the Haunted Star."

"Alexis, calm down." Anna said in a soothing tone.

"How can I calm down? Something bad has happened to my daughter's father, and no one will tell me what it is."

"Okay, yes. Julian was shot last night." the Commissioner confirmed.

Alexis' face and heart sunk. "Is he...is he…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"We don't know. He was shot twice and then he fell into the harbor. We have divers searching for him now."

"Well tell them to search faster!" Alexis exclaimed. "The harbor is freezing at this time of ...Wait a minute. Did you shoot him?"

"What?" Anna replied.

"You heard me. Did you shoot Julian for some twenty year vengeance?" Tears sprang up into Alexis' eyes. "Oh my God! You did, didn't you?"

"No!" Anna exclaimed. "I did not shoot Julian."

"Well then who did?"

Anna look at Stefano, who'd been standing there observing the two ladies. "His son." she said.

"Who is he?" Alexis said, looking at Stefano.

He laughed. "Someone more important-" he began before Anna's phone started ringing.

"Oh hush." she said before answering. "Hello...You did?...Where are you taking him?...Okay. I'm on my way."

"Was that about Julian?" Alexis asked eagerly as Anna hung up.

"Yes. The divers have recovered his body."

"Is he…"

"He's still alive, but barely. They're taking him to GH now."

Alexis took off before Anna even finished her sentence, prompting the Commissioner to run after her. "Alexis, wait!"

"Anna, what about Elvis?" Stefano called out.

"No Visitors!" Anna shouted back as she ran out the front entrance.


	7. Chapter 7

"Can you loosen these handcuffs a bit?" EJ complained as he was being moved to the lobby to await transportation to the FBI. "Do you know who I am? My last name is-"

"Save it." one of the two officers escorting him said. "We don't take orders from murderers."

"You will when I sue this department." the mobster replied as he was made to sit down and handcuffed to a desk. The officers turned up their noses and walked away.

Stefano approached smoothly after the officers left. "Well, well, well, Elvis. What have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Save it, Father." EJ replied, impatiently. "You know very well what happened. Jerome turned on me."

"But from what I hear, you sure took care of him." Stefano spoke with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Of course. He left me no other choice."

Stefano now sat down across from EJ, his face becoming more serious. "Uh, Elvis, about the choices you've been making, I've got some questions."

"What do you mean, Father? You already know everything."

"Well then explain it to me again." said Stefano, persistent.

"Fine." EJ relented. "Ask away."

"Why couldn't you just let it go? After all these years, why did you have to go after Corinthos?"

"He killed my kid! I can never let that go."

"I understand that. But now you have Johnny and Sydney, and you're about to marry Sami."

EJ's eyes lit up. "So what! You think that just replaces what I lost?"

"No, but-"

"Almost everytime I close my eyes, I see it. I see us running on the rooftop. I see Eliza getting shot, and the blood. There was so much blood. And I see the baby. I see who he or she could've become. This has haunted me for twenty-two years!"

"And you can't just let Corinthos walk away?"

"Oh God, no!"

Stefano thought for a moment. "Ok." he said. "I can understand why you went after Sonny, but why pretend to be Luke Spencer?"

"That was pure strategy." he replied. "I kept tabs on Sonny over the years, so I knew he was friends with Luke. So, I knew if I was going to be in Port Charles without revealing myself then I had to become Luke Spencer. I began to study Spencer. His relationships. Mannerisms. Habits. Then I had a friend of mine down at the WSB make me a mask that could fool everyone, which it did."

Stefano sat in silence for a moment. "One more thing. Why ELQ? Why not DiMera Enterprises?"

"Isn't it obvious. Using DiMera Enterprises, or any company in Salem for that matter, would've tied everything back to me. And once I found out Luke Spencer's connection to the Quartermaines, it became all too perfect." When Stefano said nothing, EJ asked, "Is that all?"

The Phoenix thought for a moment. "I suppose so."

"Good. Now, did you put Plan B into action?"

"Yes, I made the call." Stefano said.

"Excellent!" EJ exclaimed. "He won't know what hit him...But then again, yes he will." he said, laughing.

"I should probably be on my way." Stefano said, getting up. "Just remember one thing Elvis; don't let this hatred for Corinthos consume you, if it hasn't already."

"I'll keep that in mind."


	8. Chapter 8

**From the moment Julian Jerome entered General Hospital, he was hooked up to machines, all the doctors agreeing that he was most like not going to make it into the afternoon. Alexis Davis refused to listen, though.**

**She'd been at his bedside for the past hour, talking to Julian and God, going back and forth, hoping for a miracle. "Julian, please, wake up." she said as tears streamed down her face. "Sam and Danny need you...I need you."**

**Anna Devane had been in the room with Alexis the whole time. "Alexis, maybe you should go home and rest." she suggested.**

**Alexis looked up at Devane. "No. I'm not going anywhere until he wakes up."**

**Anna decided to bite her tongue, but then decided that it needed to be said. "That might not happen, Alexis."**

**Angrily, Alexis got up and went over to Anna. "How can you say that to me?"**

**"****Well, it wasn't me who said it. It was the doctors," she clarified, "I'm just repeating."**

**"****Oh, I bet you're loving this."**

**"****What?"**

**Alexis' face got beat red. "You've hated Julian for over twenty years. You would love it if he died."**

**Anna remained silent for a moment, not able to deny the accusation. "Alexis, why are you ever here? You broke up with Julian."**

**"****I never stopped loving him!"**

**_BEEP! BEEP BEEP!_**

**"****What the hell is going on?" Alexis yelled, watching Julian's monitors go in high gear, as Anna stood in the doorway, calling for a doctor.**

**"****Somebody help him!" Alexis was frantic as doctors ran in and went to Julian's aid. She continued to call out demands as the machines were messed with and Julian was poked and prodded. And then he flatlined.**

**Her tears rained down as they used the defibrillator three times Then they just stopped. "Call it." one of them said.**

**"****Time of death, 8:22 AM."**

**"****WHAT?" Alexis shouted. "NO! KEEP WORKING! SAVE HIM?"**

**"****I'm sorry, Ma'am." one of the doctors responded. "There's nothing else we can do. Mr. Jerome is dead."**


	9. Chapter 9

There was no sad music playing. There were no tears. There were only the blinds and curtains closed, the absence of the desire to shave or bathe, and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. This was Morgan Corinthos' depression.

Ava and the baby. Ava and the baby. Ava and the baby. Brother or father. Brother or father. Brother or father. Those were the only thoughts that ran through his mind.

His drinks of choice were Vodka and Whiskey. Sometimes he got creative and mixed the two, a Voskey as he'd call it with a chuckle. That was the only humor he could muster these days. It was what he was drinking on this day as he muttered possible baby names to himself.

"Morgan Stone Corinthos, Jr. Caroline Ava Corinthos." He laughed at the second one. Both Carly and Ava would probably flip at the sound of that. That was when someone knocked on his door.

"AVA!" he shouted, hopping up, Voskey still in hand. He ran and threw the door open.


	10. Chapter 10

EJ sat in the back of the FBI transport van with three agents, all armed with machine guns, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

"What's got you so happy?" one of them asked.

"The fact that all of you have counted me out so easily." he said matter-of-factly.

The agent laughed. "We've got you on so many charges, you'll be a great-grandfather before you see the outside world again "

The van lurched to the side and tipped over as it was hit from the side by a van the exact same size and color going almost full speed.

Five men, dressed in all black, including ski masks, hopped out of the other van with machine guns and approached the FBI van, heading straight for the back. One of them opened the back door and didn't know what to think about what he saw. Bodies piled and strewn over the small space. He immediately pulled EJ out.

"Try to wake him up," said one of the others.

The masked assailant who'd pulled DiMera out of the van slapped EJ's face a few times before he began to start coughing.

"EJ, can you stand?"

EJ then tried to stand up. He struggled at first, but the was up. Wobbly, but up. He smirked. "What took you gentlemen so long? Now, get these damn handcuffs off of me so we can get out of here.

Sonny Corinthos entered the Brownstone hoping against hope that he could get through to Morgan. He wanted to let his son know that they could find Ava and bring the baby back home. He just couldn't give up.

His phone went off a he climbed the steps. MEDIA MOGUL AND ALLEGED GANGSTER JULIAN JEROME DEAD AT 55 reads the report from his news app. He smiled silently to himself as he put his phone away.

When he got to Morgan's floor, he saw that the door was open and drew his gun. "Morgan!" he called out, inching toward the room. No answer.

When he got to the door, he timed himself before lunging into the doorway, gun raised and ready to fire. What he saw made him drop his weapon.

Morgan lay on the floor, blood seeping out of a hole in his chest. "Morgan?" was all he could get out before collapsing next to his son. "Morgan!"

Then the twenty-one year old started to groan. "D-D-D-"

"It's okay, Morgan," Sonny said, taking his son in his arms. "Don't try to speak." He took out his phone and started to dial 9-1-1.

Morgan took a gulp of air and then slowly let his eyelids drop as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Sonny dropped the phone. "MORGAN!"

He checked the pulse. It was faint, fading. He remembered EJ DiMera's words, "One day, you'll feel my pain." He then felt his son's pulse stop completely. His chest stopped heaving and was still.

Morgan Corinthos was no more.

The End


End file.
